If you’ve used a normal or “non-hydraulic” tattoo chair, you’ve probably gotten by just fine with an immobile chair. But no matter if you want to admit it or not, there is no doubt about it: a hydraulic tattoo chair is superior to any non-hydraulic tattoo chair!

One of the most popular hydraulic chairs on the market is the Encore Hydraulic Tattoo Chair. This is chair made specifically for tattoo artists – in other words, it’s not a general or all purpose chairs, it is a chair made in mind for professional tattoo artists. Let’s take a closer look at this chairs features and price.

Type of Chair: Hydraulic Tattoo Chair
Price: $500 US
Tattoo Chair Features:
- Rotates around entirely 360 degrees
- Has a heavy duty metal base as well as a heavy duty hydraulic pump
- Comfortable Thick Foam Cushioning all on parts
- Adjustable parts; includes the headrest, back and legrest
- Arms can be removed if needed (without any need to mess with nuts and bolts!)
Color:
- The Encore Hydraulic Tattoo Chair is available in black or white
Weight: 375 pounds
Dimensions: Approximately 67 inches in its length and 28 inches in its width

Comments and Reviews:

This is an all around solid tattoo chair. It’s completely adjustable, it’s comfortable, it looks sharp in both black or white – but personally I prefer the solid black look over the white version. The hydraulic pump makes it easy to use. You can swivel this chair completely around with no problem and adjust it to be taller or lower so you can easily access to the areas of the body being tattooed.

Another reason to go with a company like Encore is that unlike some other companies which make general and all purpose salon chairs that can be used for tattooing but aren’t made for it, is that Encore makes tons of tattoo furniture. Encore makes various tattoo client chairs, tattoo artist stools, hydraulic chairs, non hydraulic chairs, as well as flat bed tables, magnifying lamps, trays, trolleys, and more – all made with the goal of making furniture specific for giving tattoos: in other words, tattoo furniture!

But what is the artist doing? Standing there bent over, tattoo machine in hand, giving a tattoo, being careful not to trip over the power supply cable?

I think not. They’ve got a chair of their own. In fact, when someone uses the term tattoo chair, this actually refers to two different types of tattoo chairs.

First, we’ve got the tattoo chair we’ve mostly addressed in our other articles – the one for the client. Usually a hydraulic tattoo chair but not always.

Secondly, we’ve got the tattoo chair for the artist. They’ve got to sit on something, too!

Not surprisingly, these tattoo furniture pieces are referred to as a tattoo client chair and a tattoo artist chair, respectively.

The chair the tattoo artist sits on resembles the types of chairs used by professional drummer and massage therapists. Typically this means an adjustable stool made. Usually it’s got a comfortable mesh black seat, silver metal body, and 4 black wheels. The chair may or may not have any backing to it. Often the artist will work slightly at an angle, and so a back is not used.

As mentioned, it’s adjustable, and this is an mandatory feature, otherwise it could be horribly uncomfortable for the artist over the years using a chair that’s not ergonomically correct. This means it’s adjustable not only in the sense of height adjustment, but is mobile (wheels) and the seat itself swivels, moving side to side as the tattoo artist shifts his or her body weight.

Of the two, the client tattoo chair is far more of an investment (i.e. costs more!) because of the more materials and features a quality tattoo client chair must have. This can be anywhere from a couple hundred dollars on up into a thousand or more dollars. On the other hand, the tattoo artist chair is considerably (and thankfully) cheaper, costing anywhere from $50 to $100 from most tattoo furniture supply or general furniture companies.

For example, it’s common to find different types of chairs for sale advertised all at once as a being a:

• tattoo chair
• barber chair
• massage therapist chair
• hair styling chair
• manicure chair
• TV watching chair (OK, just kidding on this one!)

Is there anything wrong – or rather, is there anything unprofessional about using a tattoo chair that could also double as a place to cut the old man’s hair or give Mom a perm?

In a single word: no.

In two words: absolutely not!

Far from being a cheap item, the all purpose chair is actually often of superior quality over the other types of chairs marketed and sold for the individual trades above, such as a chair that is strictly a massage chair, for example.

Why is this the case? Because in order for the chair furniture to be truly effective at being a barber chair, tattoo chair, or whatever the case may be, it needs to be versatile and it needs to be of high quality. This usually means it’s going to be adjustable and hydraulic, allowing for the craftsman, be they a tattoo artist or hair styling, to adjust the chair according to the needs of the situation, job, and client.

Additionally, another perk of the all purpose tattoo chair is the ability to liquidate furniture to another business if the need arose, either because you’re replacing your current equipment (upgrading the tattoo shop, basically) or because it’s possible one day the shop itself or you as a tattooist will no longer need the chair. Having all purpose chairs means it’ll be much easier to sell a used chair to another business since they don’t have to strictly be a tattoo shop but instead could qualify under a number of other trades that need a reliable, hydraulic chair.

On this note, take a look at the following article about used tattooing equipment: Where to Buy a Used Tattoo Chair.